to love a liar

stargazing

The train was nearly empty this time around. Stumbling in on a completely empty car, you both headed towards the end to sit in two seats by the window.

The lights were dimmed, almost switched off as the train began to move. He was silent, as were you.

The soft rumbling of the train was all that could be heard. He was seated beside the window, moonlight dripped inside and cascaded along his skin.

He held out a little bottle of juice that he got you, you took it from his hand, "Thanks."

Eren nodded and then opened his own bottle of juice, bringing it to his lips and taking a sip. You did the same and watched as he opened a small pack of sour gummy worms.

He motioned for you to share it with him which you did. Still, he was quiet. You weren't exactly sure why. Maybe he felt awkward that you didn't like the topic of Jean being brought up.

"Listen, I'm sorry," he finally broke the silence. "I shouldn't have brought up the Jean thing. It wasn't my place."

Oh, your intuition was right, "It's not a big deal. Jean and I weren't exactly dating. It's just weird. I'm friends with him, yeah, but I don't really see us going anywhere."

"So . . . you're not into him anymore?" he faced his torso towards you.

"Haven't been for a while now," you told him.

Eren stayed quiet, his eyes glinting in the moonlight as he stared down at his juice bottle. Strands of his hair were loose from all the running today and left him looking a bit disheveled.

You suddenly asked, "Why'd you ask me to come with you today?"

Eren looked at you, his expression softening, "I don't know how many times you want me to tell you I like your company."

You leaned back into the seat, a soft smile on your face as you gazed back at him. You watched the little glints in his eyes from the night sky, and the sheen it set on his pretty face.

"Luckily, we didn't run into anyone we knew. See? There was nothing to worry about," he reassured you. "Breaking the rules wasn't such a bad thing now, was it?"

He had a complacent look, and your response fed into it a bit more, "I guess so. Armin would've had a blast."

"Yeah, right," Eren snorted. "He would've been hugging you again." When you laughed, he added, "Or Annie."

You raised your brows, "You know about them too?"

He nodded, "He's my best friend. How would I not know? He doesn't want anyone else knowing though."

"How come?" you asked, tilting your head.

"Bertholdt has been in love with Annie for years," he explained. "We sort of have an unspoken rule that you can't go for someone that is already spoken for. If the others knew, who knows how they'd react."

You retracted a bit, "What?"

"Yeah, they'd probably start hating him," Eren sighed. "One of the reasons why I don't tell anyone my business is because of how seriously everything is taken. They're all good people though. Just a little too involved in each other's lives."

You hummed, "I'm close to the girls and they've been pretty accepting since the day we met. Armin and Connie have been great too. I can't imagine them reacting that badly to anything though."

"I don't air out peoples' business but let's just say, if someone else finds out anything, you're put in a vulnerable spot. That's why I only tell Armin, Connie, and Sasha shit," he pointed. "That's why I beat up Historia's boyfriend."